


Birds of a Feather

by Chrystie, kate882



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Dick Grayson is a Talon, F/F, M/M, and starts out not remembering the Bats, or his relationship with Jason, or really anything about his life before the Court
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-29 07:22:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15068066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrystie/pseuds/Chrystie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kate882/pseuds/kate882
Summary: “Why can I not kill you?” Talon hissed, trying to will himself to just squeeze a little tighter and failing.“Because you’re Dick Grayson. You don’t kill people. And you know me.” The Red Hood put his hands over Talon’s, but he didn’t try to remove them from his throat.“No. I am Talon, and I have killed. You are the Red Hood, and the Court of Owls has sentenced you to death. You must die.” Talon could hear desperation in his voice. He had never felt such a thing. He couldn’t remember feeling anything before now.





	Birds of a Feather

He’d managed to follow the Red Hood back to his place of residence. This was the most opportune time to fulfill his mission. The Red Hood had let his guard down and was falling into a sense of security. He was taking off his helmet to reveal another domino mask underneath, and he had to commend the man for his cautiousness, but it wasn’t going to be enough.

The minute he peeled off his mask though, Talon could feel an odd pang in his chest, one he did not completely understand. No matter, he had a mission to complete, and afterwards he could finally be initiated.

He silently crossed the distance to the Red Hood’s residence and descended from the rooftop, swiftly entering the apartment.

Red Hood was quick to turn around at the sound of someone entering, and anger crossed his face as soon as he took in Talon’s mask. Considering the man had been targeting the Court, from what little information Talon had put together, he was not surprised by this emotion.

“If you fuckers want to bring the fight to me, I’m happy to accommodate. Saves me the trouble of hunting you all down,” Red Hood said as he dodged Talon’s knife and struck out with his fist.

Talon easily dodged it, something in him felt that the Red Hood’s movements and attacks were too familiar. He avoided and flipped over a series of attacks before going in for his own strike, which the Red Hood also dodged, but Talon still expected and continued with his strikes, until Red Hood finally landed one that knocked his mask off.

And then Red Hood just … stopped. Which was not what he expected from an opponent so formidable that the court could be heard whispering about him when they thought that Talon could not hear them. “Dick?” Red Hood said softly, tone and expression completely different from just a few minutes before. Talon did not know this expression. His lips were tilted downwards, his eyes shining a little too bright, his eyebrows drawn together, and he was blinking too much. “Oh Dickiebird, what did they do to you?” He reached out like he wanted to touch, and Talon lashed out immediately, landing a kick to the Red Hood’s head which sent him down. Another one that he barely even tried to dodge and the Red Hood was unconscious in front of him.

Talon pulled a knife from his holder and pressed it to the Red Hood’s sternum. Just a push and he would be dead. Talon braced his hand over his fist clutching the blade. He just had to jam it in and he’d be done. He could do it. His hand was shaking for some unexplainable reason, but he could do it. His hand slipped, the blade slipped and it clattered to the ground. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t do it and he didn’t understand why. What was the Red Hood doing to him? He had never hesitated before.

The Red Hood groaned under him, squeezing his eyes tighter against what was probably a very painful headache, before squinting open to look up at him. “Dick- what-what are you doing?”

Talon gripped the Red Hood’s throat, squeezing hard enough to hurt, but not hard enough to kill him. Talon still couldn’t bring himself to do it. “What are you doing to me?”

“I’m not- you’re on top of me,” he wheezed out, not even putting up a fight, like he knew that Talon couldn’t do it for some reason. “What happened to you?”

“Why can I not kill you?” Talon hissed, trying to will himself to just squeeze a little tighter and failing.

“Because you’re Dick Grayson. You don’t kill people. And you know me.” The Red Hood put his hands over Talon’s, but he didn’t try to remove them from his throat.

“No. I am Talon, and I have killed. You are the Red Hood, and the Court of Owls has sentenced you to death. You must die.” Talon could hear desperation in his voice. He had never felt such a thing. He couldn’t remember feeling anything before now.

“And they sent you to kill me? Those sick fucking-” He finally removed Talon’s hands from his throat, but once he did that the grip he kept on them didn’t feel restrictive. “Dick, do you know who I am?”

“You are the Red Hood, a protector of this city that bears no hope. Why do you keep calling me that word?”

“I am Jason Todd, your…” he frowned up at Talon. “I am your friend. And you are Richard Grayson, but you go by Dick.”

Talon did not understand what the Red Hood achieved from lying to him. “I am Talon. I have always been and was always meant to be Talon and only Talon.”

“You are Dick Grasyon, you were once Robin and then Nightwing, but under both of those you are Dick Grayson, son of John and Mary Grayson,” Red Hood insisted.

“Lies!” There was that feeling of desperation again, overwhelming his entire being. What the Red Hood told him had to be lies. He was Talon. He was a mere soldier for the Court of Owls. He was struggling against the Red Hood’s grip and something deep down inside him was screaming that the truth he knew was the lie. That the Red Hood spoke of what once was.

“I have been working my way through every single Court hideout I have been able to find looking for you, and they had the audacity to send you to kill me. But we’ll figure something out. We’ll find out how to get your memories back. You don’t have to go back to them,” and the Red Hood’s tone was also a little desperate too as he spoke of keeping Talon with him.

“I cannot go back until you are dead and something stops me from killing you. I cannot go back.”

“Then stay with me.”

That, by far, was the oddest thing the Red Hood had said during their encounter. “Why would you house a man sent to kill you? Why would you protect me?”

“Because I know you. And I care about you. And I would do anything to keep you safe, even if it risks my life,” Red Hood said firmly, his expression unwavering.

Talon could tell that in this instance, for some reason, the Red Hood was not lying. No, he knew that the Red Hood had not lied to him the entire night, but everything the man said conflicted with his reality. Both could not be true, and it seemed as though the Red Hood was offering him the chance to learn which was which. It would be a risky decision to stay with the Red Hood, but to go back to the Court without his head spelled death. The former option, no matter how risky, was still the safer one.

“I will stay, but I do not fully trust you. I am not a fool.”

“Okay. Do you trust me enough to let me up?” Red Hood asked him.

Talon kept a steady and suspicious eye on the Red Hood and slowly raised himself off of him. “You… confuse me. I do not understand what it means for you to care and why it is that you do so for me.”

The Red Hood sat up, rubbing at his bruised neck. “I care about you. It means that you are important to me. And I care because you spent a lot of time caring about me when I didn't deserve it until I finally started to return the feeling.”

Again, the way the Red Hood spoke, Talon could hear no lie. “I do not recall any such time.”

“You also do not recall your own name, so I'm not surprised by that.” He got all the way up, but kept a safe distance. “I'm going to get ice. Do you need anything? Food? Water?”

Talon did not understand being given the choice. He had never been offered a decision of his own to make. He was only ever given orders. He decided to voice that for the Red Hood after a moment of contemplation. “I have never been given the choice. I eat and drink when it is provided.”

“Well you're being given the choice now. Do you want either of those things?” The Red Hood asked him, tone surprisingly soft for someone that the Court feared so much.

Talon did not feel the need to eat. Really he never felt the need, he simply did it because he knew it was vital, he was however, feeling thirst. He did not trust the Red Hood though. Not yet at the very least, so he shook his head.

“Okay.” The Red Hood nodded, and he kept his movements slow as he went to his freezer. He pulled out two ice packs, and walked back over to Talon and held one out for him to take, holding the other to his head where Talon had kicked him.

Reluctantly, Talon took it but he was not too clear on what he was supposed to do with it. “What is it for?”

“It helps to numb injuries and reduce swelling. I know I got a kick in on your ribs before I took off your mask. It might make it hurt a little more for a few seconds, but once you get past that it helps,” Red Hood explained patiently.

Talon slowly pressed the ice bag to where the Red Hood had kicked him earlier and it did sting, like he had been warned, but no more than what he was use to. “I have never nursed my injuries.”

“I'm sure the court didn't let you. They heal faster when you do though.”

He could see the benefit in healing an injury faster. In the court an injury was a punishment for being weak. All Talons lived and endured the injury no matter how bad. Nursing something that could be no more than a bruise, maybe a hairline fracture, seemed odd. “It has become numb.”

“Leave the ice there to keep it numb and bring down any swelling,” Red Hood instructed. “Do you have any other injuries?”

Talon shook his head. The Red Hood had not managed to hurt him very much, at first because of Talon being able to predict his movements then the Red Hood stopping in his attempt to fight at all.

“Okay then. Do you want to sit down?” He gestured towards a couch. “And would you be willing to talk to me about what's been happening with you and the Court?”

Talon examined the couch skeptically before deeming it safe and stiffly sitting down. “I do not understand your question. The court is all I know and all I have ever known.”

“Then what is your first memory of the Court? Because Dick Grayson has only been missing for a year. So you have known other things, you just can't remember them.” The Red Hood glanced at the couch, but ultimately sat on the chair next to it instead, turning it to face Talon.

Talon wasn’t really sure what his memory was. It felt so long ago, more than just a year. “I remember waking and being told that I was born to serve.”

“But you woke up as a fully grown adult, right? That's not how people are born,” the Red Hood argued.

And Talon logically knew that the Red Hood was right. People started as infants, that was a fact. “In the Court, the first time a Talon wakes is when they are born, regardless of age.”

“Metaphorically sure, but physically you were born before that. So if you were physically born before you woke up in the Court, then there must have been time before the Court. Time enough for you to grow into an adult,” he reasoned.

Talon looked to his hands and for the first time since his birth, he questioned what was reality. “Who was I?”

“Dick Grayson. One of the flying Grayson's, a circus act, and then Robin under Batman, and then Nightwing. But always Dick Grayson,” Red Hood answered.

He could tell the name held meaning to him. Something in the back of his mind told him that the name was familiar, that everything the Red Hood said rang true. “Who are you? How do you know me?”  

“I'm Jason Todd. I was Robin under Batman after you. That's how we met. And later I became the Red Hood. But still, always Jason Todd under the helmet and the mask, as you liked to remind me in the early days of me being Red Hood.”

And Talon knew that was true too. That he had learned while studying the Red Hood in order to kill him. “Jason,” he said out loud just to see how it felt on his tongue as it was very familiar.

“Yes,” he agreed encouragingly, and he smiled at Talon a little, but for some reason, despite the smile that should indicate he was happy, his eyes seemed a little wet, like he was holding back tears. Something in Talon’s chest clenched at the sight, but Talon did not know what that meant.

“How can you trust me, Jason? I was sent to kill you, how are sure I still will not.” He decided he preferred how Jason sounded on his tongue over the Red Hood.

“I'm not. I don't think you will, because you didn't, but I can't be completely sure that you won't. But I already told you, I care about you. Enough to risk my own life,” he told Talon, pulling himself together again.

“Is that why you wish to cry? Because you care?” Talon didn’t understand what it meant to care. He knew what it entailed, and knew the definition, but the feeling and the importance were foreign to him.

“I'm not- I don't-” Jason cut himself off and seemed to consider his words. “I guess. Because someone I care about has been gone for a long time, and now you're here in front of me, but you don't know me or yourself. It's… a lot to process.”

“I don’t remember,” Talon agreed, “But I think I would like to.” It may have something to do with that clenching in his chest, but it couldn’t be bad to remember what was taken from him.

“And I’ll do what I can to help you remember,” Jason told him. His hand moved forward like he wanted to reach out to Talon, but he dropped it back into his lap almost immediately after. “We’ll figure it out. I'm sure we'll figure something out.”

Talon nodded. “You are kinder than your reputation suggests. I have been taught that kindness is a weakness, but perhaps you will change my perception.”

“You’re the one that tried to teach me that it can be a strength,” Jason told him.

“Then maybe you can show me what I apparently used to know.”

And there was a small smile on Jason’s face again, this time without the tears, and the clenching in his chest seemed to loosen a little bit. “I’ll try my best. I don’t think I’m as good of a teacher as you though.”

“I suppose we will find out if you are correct through time.”

“In the meantime, is there anything you need?”

Talon was about to shake his head again, used to denying offers and only taking what was completely necessary. But he was not with the Court any longer and Jason did not seem to want to hurt him, let alone poison him. “May I have some water?”

Jason nodded, immediately getting to his feet. He paused for a moment like he was trying to steady himself, reminding Talon that he had suffered an injury to the head, but Jason recovered quickly and walked into the kitchen area, coming back with a bottle of water, which he handed to Talon before sitting back down.

“You should rest. I believe that is how most head injuries heal.” Talon unscrewed the cap of the bottle and was unused to the feeling of cold water touching his tongue. He had grown used to luke warm water and cold meals, rarely the other way around.

“I’m fine,” Jason answered immediately. The first lie he had given Talon that night.

“Why is that what you choose to lie about? You have had many other reasons to lie before now.”

“Force of habit, I guess,” Jason answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “But really, I don’t need to rest right now. Well, I do,” he amended, “but I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep any time soon. If you’re tired though you can totally sleep here. There’s a spare room, and the sheets have been washed pretty recently in there, so it’s clean.”

“I am not allowed to feel exhaustion. I rest only because it is necessary.” He also did not rest in anything such as a bed. It would often be against walls while staying seated upright.

Jason frowned at him and shook his head. “You’re allowed to feel whatever you want while you’re here with me. So, if you feel that it is necessary to rest now, you’re allowed to do that.”

That concept was odd to him, and he was not too sure how to react to such an offer. “I believe it is customary to thank someone for their kindness. Thank you, Jason.”

“You’re welcome, Dick. But you don’t have to thank me. I want to help you.”

Right, Jason had told him his name was Dick once. He would likely have to get used to it again. He did not think it would be too hard. The name felt right. “Yes, but I believe I should.”

“Well, you’re welcome either way. So, would you like to rest? It is pretty late,” Jason offered.

“I suppose I can rest if you will do the same.”

“You already sound more like yourself. I’ll agree to try, is that good enough?”

Talon- no, he had to get used to his name. Dick nodded. “I believe it will be a shared effort.” He didn’t think he would be able to rest much either.

“Then let me show you too your new room. And if you need any extra pillows or blankets, just let me know.” Jason got up, and this time his pause was less noticeable, but Dick thought that might be for his benefit more than a sign of recovery. “Can I put away your ice pack first? It’ll just melt if you take it to bed with you.”  

Dick placed it into Jason’s hand. He knew his ribs would be sore again in the morning, but he had dealt with worse before.

Jason put both ice packs back into his freezer, and then led Dick to a bedroom that was much larger than his living space with the court. “You can sleep here. And if you need the bathroom, it’s right there,” he pointed to a door across the hall, “and if you need me, I’m in that room,” he pointed to the room next to the one they were standing in front of.

Something about their set up felt off, but Dick was not sure what it was. “Thank you,” he said again.

Jason nodded in acknowledgment, but hesitated to actually leave Dick’s side.

Dick was not sure what kept Jason by his side until he thought over one of the first things Jason had said to him. That Dick Grayson had been gone for a year. “I will still be here tomorrow. I have no reason to leave.”

Jason did not appear all that reassured, but he did nod again. “Right, yeah, I just- I’ll leave you to rest.” He cast one last lingering look at Dick, before going into the other room, leaving the door open behind him.

The bed and room Jason had provided him felt wrong. It was not what he was used to with the court and it did not hold the same familiarity as everything else Dick had encountered since Jason took off his mask. Perhaps it was his choice to sleep in his Talon suit which was still fully armed, but that did not feel like it was the cause of the wrongness. Regardless, Dick closed his eyes and attempted to sleep.

* * *

It wasn’t until several hours later that Dick awoke to the sound of screaming. And when he listened closer he could hear someone thrashing around, and it all sounded like it was coming from Jason’s room, and he found himself rushing to investigate without even thinking about it.

He found no danger, at least none that he could see. Jason appeared to be asleep even as he screamed, and the dark circles under his eyes seemed to indicate that he had not been asleep for long either. And now he was shouting Dick’s name instead of just wordlessly shouting.

“Jason,” Dick called out, hoping it would cause him to wake up, but it only resulted in more thrashing. Dick had not touched Jason since their fight, and he was still reluctant to do so, but whatever Jason saw behind his closed eyes was causing him pain. With hesitation, Dick reached for both of Jason’s wrists and held them. “Jason,” he tried again.

And this time it seemed to work because Jason’s eyes snapped open with a gasp, and he was sitting bolt upright, sweat sticking his hair to his forehead, and eyes wide. “Dick, you’re here- I had the worst dream you were gone and-and…” he trailed off as he seemed to become more aware, eyes lingering on the Talon symbol on Dick’s clothes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he said softly, shoulders slumping and the energy seeming to drain from him a little.

Dick slowly let go of Jason’s wrists, the warmth of them comfortable in his cold hands. “Something was hurting you, but I could not identify a threat.”

“I-” Jason seemed to need a moment to compose himself and his thoughts. “It was just a dream. There’s no threat here.”

“The way you were thrashing implies something different. More than just a mere dream.”

“A nightmare then. Still a dream, just a really bad one,” Jason explained.

“Are those common for you?” Dick was genuinely curious. He only rested once every two or three days, it was uncommon to have any sort of dream.

“I suppose. More so lately than they used to be,” Jason admitted. “I’m fine though. I wasn’t hurt.”

“It seems to me that you will only lie to me about your well being. I find that odd.” He could see that Jason was unharmed, but he did not seem fine in the least.

“I’m physically fine. Or at least no more physically damaged than when you saw me last night. It wasn’t an intentional lie,” Jason corrected himself.

“Will that happen again if you try to rest?”

“It might, but I don’t know for sure,” Jason told him, slowly getting out of bed. “I’m up now though. Do you want breakfast?”

It was still relatively dark out which Dick was sure many people would consider too early for breakfast but it had been about a day and a half since he had last eaten so some food was probably necessary. “Yes, please.”

Jason nodded and walked out to his kitchen, starting to go through the fridge and pull things out. “I know cereal is your favorite, but I haven’t bought any in a while, so for now an omelet will have to do,” Jason told him.

Dick nodded, “Thank you.” He really did not care what Jason provided him. He had gotten used to surviving on the mush they give him at the Court as well as energy bars when he could not return for a meal.

A few minutes later Jason was setting something down in front of him that smelled amazing and as if on cue, his stomach made a sound. “If you’re still hungry after that I can make more,” he offered.

Dick cut some off and put the piece into his mouth and was completely overwhelmed. “It is hot,” he said with amazement, “and it tastes good.”

“Food is generally supposed to taste good,” Jason agreed. “Although I’m sure the Court doesn’t believe in that.”

“I eat for necessity,” Dick said scarfing down another bite. He had never had something with so much flavor.

“So does everyone. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it.”

Dick looked to Jason in confusion. “I have never thought of my own enjoyment. Only my missions.”

“Well now you can. You’re allowed to like things and do thinks that you like,” Jason told him, barely touching his own food.

Dick could not think of many things he liked. “I like this,” he pointed to the omelet, “And I believe I like you. Are you not going to eat?”

“Not as hungry as I thought,” Jason shrugged, and Dick wondered if it had anything to do with his screaming earlier. “You want more?”

Dick shook his head, “I do not require it, but I believe you do.” Dick knew Jason had not eaten much in the last twenty-four hours. He had noticed it while he was watching him.

“Fine fine,” Jason relented, taking a large bite. “Happy?”

“No, but I suppose I am appeased.”

“Good enough I guess,” Jason answered before taking another bite. “I’ll buy some cereal for you next time I’m at the store.”

Dick shook his head. “You do not have to do that. You are already letting me stay in your home, which is more than I can ask for given my attempts to kill you.”

Jason just stared at him for a moment.“No, it’s fine really. Honestly, I used to have to make sure you didn’t buy like five boxes in one shopping trip, so just getting you a box is no big deal.”

Dick supposed if it was something he enjoyed he would likely try to stock up on it. It made sense to him even if he did not remember that instance. “You really are too kind.”

“And you’re probably giving me more credit than I deserve. I’m being nice to someone I already care about after all.”

Dick still did not understand why Jason cared for him at all. All he had told Dick was that he knew him. “Why do you care for me?”

Jason paused, fork halfway to his mouth, and then put it down, seeming to go over his words in his head. “I went through a rough time a while back. But you kept trying to help me, you kept believing in the good in me no matter what I did or how I tried to push you away. You were nice to me even when I didn’t deserve it. And eventually, I started to want to help you too, and we both started to care more for each other the more we were around each other,” he explained, his words slow and measured.

“I see,” Dick said as he ate the last of his omelet, and for the first time since he could remember, he could feel waves of emotion other than confusion and apathy. He felt sorrow for forgetting so much and he felt angry that he was forced to forget. “I want to remember that. I want to remember you.”

“And I want you to remember too. I’m going to try to look into it today, but honestly I think Tim would know more about it.”

“Tim?” He did not remember that name coming up before in conversation. Was that someone he was supposed to know?

“Right, sorry, he’s another friend. Would you be okay with meeting him?”

“Can I trust him?” Dick was not sure if he could really even completely trust Jason, but nothing Jason had done so far indicated that he couldn’t.

“You can,” Jason told him with certainty. “Tim’s a good kid. And you trusted him completely before.”

“Then I suppose I should meet him. If he is as kind as you then I see no reason not to.”

“I’ll call him then, see when he can make it over.” Jason finished the last bite of his food and pulled out his phone, where Dick could still hear what was going on if he focused on it. “Heya Timmers, it’s like five am, you don’t sound at all like you were sleeping.”

“Who needs sleep when there’s people to save and missing friends to look for?” Tim sounded like he was trying to mask his exhaustion and it was very ineffective.

“You do. You still need sleep. Do you think you could come by sometime soon though? I need your help with something.”

“Is it something important or did you join the train of giving up and trying to stop me? Because I honestly thought you were the one who would stick with me through this.”

“There’s a lot of accusation in that tone for me just telling you to sleep and come over,” Jason frowned a bit.

Tim heaved a sigh, “Sorry. Bruce has been telling me to stop looking and that it’s unhealthy every chance he gets. It’s starting to grate on my nerves.”

“Well Bruce isn’t at my place, so are you able to come over any time soon?” Jason asked him.

“Yeah, I guess I can be there soon. Gimme half an hour?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Tim, take a fucking nap. And a shower. I’ll feed you when you get here, but I don’t want to see your face before noon, and it had better be rested.”

“Why would you say soon if you don’t want me the-” Tim yawned loudly, “-there for another seven hours.”

“Because soon would be better, but I don’t need you kneeling over when you get here. I’m going to put you to work researching if you don’t have my answers already.”

“I’m fine. I wasn’t going to sleep for like another three hours.”

“How long has it been since you slept though?”

“It’s only been like a day, I’ve dealt with worse. Hell, you’ve dealt with worse.”

Jason frowned harder, but glanced at Dick and sighed. “Shower. Then come over.”

“Forty minutes then. See you soon.”

“Yeah, and don’t tell Bruce,” Jason answered before hanging up, and turning back to Dick. “He’ll be here soon. In the meantime, did you want to shower too? I’ve still got your old clothes, so you can change into those if you want.”

Dick supposed it had been about a week since he last showered, but something Jason said stood out to him. “Why do you have clothes I used to own?”

“Oh, uh, you used to live here with me before you went missing. And I never threw them out. So there’s plenty of clothes here that should fit you.”  

Dick looked around the room, “I used to live here?” That would explain why everything in this place seemed so familiar.

Jason nodded. “Yeah, we lived here for two years. I thought about moving out when you went missing, but I wanted you to be able to come back home when we found you,” he said quietly, looking down at his plate, and picking that up, along with Dick’s, to take to the sink and start washing.

Dick was not the most well versed in culture or social norms, but he knew that implied a close relationship. “We were more than friends.”

Jason looked over at him, clearly a little startled, but slowly nodded in agreement with Dick’s statement.

“This must be very hard for you.” Dick could not meet Jason’s gaze because he knew the truth in his statement and yet he still could not remember anything.

“It is.” Jason abandoned the dishes in the sink to sit down across from Dick again. “But it also lets me know that you’re still alive, and that’s the most important thing to me. And you might not remember me right now, but if the Court can take your memories we can get them back.”

“I hope you are right.” But there was a sliver of doubt in his mind that told him that the Court could not be overpowered so easily, even if it was just over the state of his mind.

“I hope so too,” he said softly. “But even if we can’t, it’s better to have you here like this than not at all.”

“I hope you are right about that too,” because Dick had doubts about that as well.

“I know I am. Now, did you want that shower or not?”

Dick nodded, “Yes please.”

Jason led him towards the bathroom he had pointed out to him the night before, stopping at a closet in the hall to get a towel that he passed to Dick. “So, you just turn this knob for hot water, and this one for cold water, and the middle one to turn the water on and off,” Jason instructed, pointing at each one in turn.

“Thank you,” Dick nodded as he started to strip off his suit, careful to not unsheith any of the knives.

“I’ll, um, just leave you too it then.” Jason moved towards the door. “And I’ll put your clothes outside the door,” he added before exiting, closing the door behind him.

Dick couldn’t remember ever having the option of a hot shower, he showered only when necessary because the showers provided by the court were frigid and unbearable. This though, this was amazing, and if he was not thinking about the visit he was to be expecting, he would have stayed in there much longer than he had. He wrapped himself in the towel provided for him and found the clothes outside the door just as Jason had said they would be. They were surprisingly a little big on him despite Jason telling him that they were his clothes.

Jason was drinking a cup of coffee when he walked back into the kitchen. “Oh hey, Timmy should be here in a few, did you want some coffee first?”

“I have never required it,” but he was a little curious about it, seeing so many people depend on it.

“Well you can try it and see what you think.” Jason poured a cup and added milk and sugar before handing it to Dick.

Dick accepted the mug with the hand that was not still holding his suit and took a sip and it was actually pretty good. “I like this.”

“Well then, when we’ve got a bit more time I can show you how to make it, but Tim should be here any minute no-“ Jason cut off when a knock came at the door. “Or right now. Okay, um, do you think you can stay over here for just a few minutes so I can give him some warning before he sees you?”

Dick nodded, content to just continue sipping on his coffee.

“Tim, how many speeding laws did you break to-“

It was a female voice that spoke, distinctly not the voice from the phone, shouting Jason’s name, and then Dick heard the sound of two bodies hitting the floor.

Dick quickly forgot his coffee and ran to the front to see what had happened and all he could focus on was a body on top of Jason and his mind went blank. “No!” He pulled a knife from the suit he was still holding and threw it at the unidentified threat.

He could vaguely hear a voice at the door saying his name, but was more focused on Jason, who’s eyes went wide at the sight of the weapon coming at the girl on top of him. And he quickly flipped their positions so that his body was covering her’s, letting out a quiet pained sound when the knife went into his shoulder.

Fear and panic rushed through him, clutching at his chest and painfully blanking out his mind. All his eyes could focus on was the knife, his knife, embedded into Jason’s shoulder and the blood running down his arm. He didn’t process how or when he had moved but the next thing he knew, he was on his knees, by Jason’s side, clutching his injured arm. “No,” he breathed out.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Jason rushed to assure him.

“Jason is that- what-” the girl still under Jason seemed at a loss for words as she looked between Jason and Dick.

“Jason … what’s going on? Are you okay?” Tim, Dick distantly recognized his voice from the phone, was in the apartment now by their side.

“I’m fine, really. Some bandaging and I’ll be good as new,” Jason gave them all a forced smile. “And um, I was hoping to give you some more lead up, but I found Dick. Or, he found me. But he doesn’t remember us right now.”

Dick could still only register the blood now dripping onto the floor. “I hurt you again.” The guilt and shame was so heavy in his voice even he could hear it. The clenching in his chest got worse.

“I think we should fix you before anything else can be done, he doesn’t look like he’s ready to leave you,” he could hear Tim say from above him, but it did not matter what Tim said because the only thing that mattered right now was Jason’s injury.

“Yeah, okay,” Jason agreed, gently trying to pry Dick’s fingers off of his arm. “Dick, I need you to let go so that Tim can fix it. Steph, you wanna get the first aid kit from my bathroom?” Jason carefully got off of the blonde girl under him, who nodded and quickly disappeared down the hall.

Dick’s eyes finally left Jason’s arm to watch the girl, Steph, run to the bathroom and his eyes turned up to finally look at Tim, who was looking down at him in a mix of astonishment and worry. “You will help him?”

Tim seemed to just frown a little harder, but Dick was not sure why. “We can’t unless you let go of him, Dick.”

Dicks eyes finally returned to Jason and he slowly pulled his hands off his arm. “I am sorry.” He had never felt such shame and guilt, especially over hurting someone. He had killed many, he had hurt Jason just the night before, and that memory filled him with more shame. He knew these feelings meant something, but it was too much for him to figure out what right at that moment.

“It’s fine,” Jason assured him again. “I know you weren’t trying to hurt me.”

“I got it,” Steph ran back into the room handing a kit to Tim and Tim quickly got to work on Jason’s arm, kneeling down beside Dick.

Dick looked to Tim and then the Steph and he felt the same feeling of familiarity he had with Jason last night along with the same hesitance to hurt either of them. “I know you,” he said to both of them.

“You do,” Steph agreed. “I’m Stephanie. That’s Tim. I’m sorry I scared you. I just haven’t seen Jay in a little while, and I accidentally knocked him over when I hugged him,” she explained and then glanced at Jason. “And sorry I didn’t warn you I was coming. Tim said he was visiting you and it had been a while so I tagged along.”

Now that Dick could see that Jason had not been under any type of threat he felt a new wave of shame because something in the back of his mind told him that he did not want to hurt Steph or Tim either. “I am sorry.”

“No no, you were just trying to protect Jason, I get it,” she told him.

“Ow!” Their attention was brought back to Jason. “Tim, could you be a little gentler with the stitches?”

“This _is_ gentle. Not all of us have Alfred’s magic hands.”

“I have been stitched up by you before, this is totally not gentle,” Jason argued.

“This is gentle when my mind is occupied by the sudden reappearance of my brother who has been missing for a year,” Tim huffed.

“Brother?” Dick repeated with confusion.

“Not biologically, but you’re the closest thing I have to a big brother.”

“I,” Dick frowned, feeling that anger at the Court once more, “I do not remember.”

“I didn’t think you would,” But even Dick could see Tim’s disappointment.

“Then let Steph do it. At least her hands aren’t shaking.”

“No I’m fine, I’m almost done anyway.”

“Tim’s better at it than me anyway,” Stephanie agreed. “And it’s kind of my fault anyway, you only got knifed because you flipped us.”

“Well it was my shoulder or your neck. I can take a shoulder injury to make sure you don’t bleed out on my floor,” Jason muttered.

“No it was my fault. I could stitch it up if you would like. I stitch up my own wounds,” Dick offered.

“It’s fine, Timmy’s just about done,” Jason told him.

Tim finished up the stitch but not without Dick watching his work intensely and frowning at the wound even after he was finished and cleaning up. “You are sure you are fine?” Logically he knew Jason could take much more damage than what he had suffered, but the guilt still tore at Dick.

“I’m sure. I think getting kicked in the head hurt more honestly. It’s really not a big deal. I’ve gotten stabbed by plenty of these kind of knives in the last year.”

“You’re head injury was also my doing.” Of course Dick had only been focusing on his mission at the time, but that did not excuse his actions.

“How about instead of riding the guilt train that even amnesiac Dick is apparently capable of, we focus on why you called me. Which was about the memories, wasn’t it?” Tim cut in before they could have another exchange of faults and forgiveness.

Jason nodded. “I figured if anyone could figure it out it’d be you or B, but you know how he is, so,” Jason shrugged his good shoulder. “He’s apparently been working as a Talon for the Court. They sent him to kill me last night.”

“I could not do it and I failed to understand why.” Although given recent discoveries such as his previous relationship with Jason, as well as his refusal to see him hurt, Dick was starting to get an idea of why.

“Probably because you were super in love with Jason before you vanished,” Stephanie supplied.

Dick looked to Jason and with how he reacted, which was to simply offer him a smile that looked a little sad, he could not find a reason to deny Steph’s words. He could really no longer deny that he did not care for Jason because he did. He could feel from the clenching in his chest that he really really did.

“Maybe that’s how we get his memory back,” Tim thought aloud, “if he remembers he loves you then it’s not a far stretch for him to eventually get back to remembering you, and theoretically he should remember the rest of us the same way too.”

“But he doesn’t actually remember loving me,” Jason pointed out. “He couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t kill me before.”

“But he remembers how he feels, he’s just having trouble connecting what those feelings mean.”

“I care for Jason,” Dick confirmed, “I have figured that much. And I believe I had strong feelings for the two of you as well. Once I saw Steph’s face I did not want to hurt her, or you.” Steph looked a little excited from that news.

“So… maybe if we keep exposing him to things he knew before he’ll start to remember?” Jason asked hopefully.

“Theoretically it should work, but just to be sure we should go over the information we have on the Court’s recruitment programs and steal more to fill in the gaps.”

“I haven’t been looking much into that, just where they could be keeping Dick, do you have any info on it?”

“Back at the cave. It’s just an extra precautionary measure to make sure they didn’t do any permanent damage to his mind or program something in there while they were brainwashing him.”

“Can you access that without Bruce knowing?” Jason asked, lips tipping downwards a little.

“With a bit of effort.” Tim shrugged, “He did trust me to redesign his security system.”

“I think we should tell him,” Stephanie chimed in, and then held up her hands when both Jason and Tim turned to look at her incredulously. “I know how he can be, but I really think he deserves to know that Dick is back, even if it’s not as himself. And he’ll find out eventually anyway. I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t want to have to explain to him why we knew and just kept it to ourselves.”  

“Who is Bruce?” Dick finally spoke up.

He got three different answers at the same time. “Batman.” “Sort of like your adoptive father.” “Bruce Wayne.”

Dick’s eyes widened at them. “Batman is my adoptive father?”

“Yes. He took you in when you were nine years old,” Jason explained.

“Which is another reason it might be good to tell him. If familiarity is what will trigger Dick’s memory, he’s known Bruce the longest,” Stephanie added, placing her hands on her hips.

“I do not see the harm in meeting my father.” Dick did see the harm in meeting Batman, however. Batman was always portrayed as the enemy, and it was difficult to see otherwise even if he no longer trusted the Court unquestioningly.

“B is-” Jason started, but Tim cut him off.

“You have a complicated relationship with him, I’ll answer so you don’t influence his choice on the matter.” Jason didn’t look thrilled, but didn’t protest, so Tim continued. “Bruce sometimes has trouble with feelings. And bending his morals. Talons kill people, and I think Jason is worried about that. I’m less worried about it, because he has shown ability to give second chances on that, Damian is a good example. He used to be an assassin, but now he’s Robin. It did still cause some friction a few times though. But we’re both concerned with Bruce possibly not trusting you because of your time with the Court. And wanting to use you for information on them. Because he has trouble sometimes turning off Batman when he needs to. But, he also cares a lot about you, and Steph may have a point about him deserving to know.”

“It’s your choice,” Jason told Dick. “If you want to meet him we can call him right now and he could get here in twenty minutes.”

“If Jason calls him he might come in fifteen just to see what was so important,” Steph added.

“I,” Dick frowned as he thought about it, “I would like to tell him, but I do not think I am ready to talk about the court just yet, not their secrets at least.”

“We’ll tell him he’ll have to leave if he asks you about it then,” Stephanie said.

“That seems a little over reactive, but I would not be opposed to such an idea.”

“So Jay, you calling him then?” Steph asked.

Jason still didn’t look happy about it, but he pulled out his phone again and dialed a number. “Hey, come to my place. No capes. Bye.” And then he hung up. Tim just shook his head while Steph rolled her eyes.

“I am starting to understand what you meant by complicated,” Dick observed.

“It’s an improvement, actually,” Stephanie told him. “He said hey and bye.”

“I see.” Dick looked to Steph, “and how do I know you?”

“Oh! Right, sorry. I dated Tim for a while, which is how I got to know some of you, and I did the Robin thing for a minute, although I’m better known as Spoiler or Batgirl. Batgirl currently. So you know me from all of that.” She gave him a beaming smile when she finished.

“I see. Your smile makes me feel things. I think it is something similar to relief or happiness.”

That only made her smile brighter. “I know you don’t remember me, but do you think you’d be okay with me hugging you? I promise I won’t knock you over like I did to Jason.”

Dick hadn’t had much physical contact other than the fight with Jason and a few brief touches, but he still nodded, and he found a warm body pressed against his and arms wrapped around him loose enough to not be restricting but still tight enough to hold him close. “I’ve really missed you,” she said softly.

Dick loosely wrapped his arms around her in return. “I would really like to remember you.” He looked at the other two in the room, his eyes landing and staying on Jason. “All of you.”

“Timmy’s almost always right, so if he’s right this time you should eventually start to remember us all,” Steph held on for a few more seconds before reluctantly letting go of him.

“I really hope he is right.”

There was a brisk knock on the door. “He must have been nearby,” Tim mused.

“I’ve got it.” Jason got to his feet and put his shirt back on with only mild wincing before opening the door a crack. “You got here too fast. Did you use the batmobile?”

“I was close by,” was all that came through the door in a gruff voice, “why did you call?”

“I will kick you out of my home if you ask questions Stephanie deems inappropriate,” Jason warned before opening the door wide enough for Dick to see who he presumed was Bruce, and let Bruce see him as well.

“I am told that you are my father.” Dick said and Bruce’s eyes widened.

“What happened and how did you find him?”  

“Dick, you can just call him Bruce. Everyone except Damian does,” Jason told Dick before actually answering Bruce. “He found me. The Court sent him to kill me. He didn’t do it. So now he’s staying here, and we’re trying to figure out how to get him to remember us. He wanted to meet you.”

Compared to the others, Dick felt just about the same amount of familiarity and recognition to Bruce as he did to Jason, maybe even more. “I recognize you, but I don’t remember you.”

Bruce, who looked like he was having an internal battle, seemed to have something in him break and he surged forward to hug him a little more tightly than Steph had. “But you’re alive. I should’ve had more faith in you.” Dick wasn’t too sure how to react to that, so he just stood stiffly and let it happen.

“This is going better than expected,” Tim said to Steph, not quite quiet enough for Dick to miss it.

Bruce seemed too preoccupied to react to Tim’s comment though. He pulled away to hold Dick by the shoulders. “How much do you remember? The court is known to try and be thorough.”

“I remember nothing but my time at the court, but I recognize all of you in some way and my feelings, which I thought were wiped away, respond accordingly.”

“And what do you remember of the Court?” And at that Dick’s face instantly fell.

“Inappropriate,” Stephanie immediately chimed in.  

“We need to know what happened to know what to do,” Bruce argued.

“He said he’s not ready to talk about that yet. You’ll know when he’s ready,” she folded her arms over her chest and stared him down. “He only left them less than twenty four hours ago, and found out he had a whole life he didn’t know about. Give the man some time to process everything.”

Bruce looked like he was ready to argue more, but his stubborn frown fell once his eyes landed on Dick. “Alright, but we will need the information eventually.”

“Tim thinks that being around familiar things and people will help him recover his memories, since he already finds all of us familiar and retained some of his feelings towards us,” Jason told Bruce. And Dick noticed that Jason was a few feet further away than he had been previously. “So we thought you’d be a good familiar face to remind him of who he is.”

“A reasonable theory. If that is the working theory then it would make more sense for him to stay at the manor.”

Emotions passed over Jason’s face too quickly for Dick to categorize them before he settled on careful blankness. “He was staying here for two years before the Court took him, so he’d have more recent memories here.”

“... Bruce might be right though. You’ve got a good point about recentness, but he’d have more memories at the manor, and more people he knows live and stop by there,” Tim reluctantly told Jason.

Dick looked back and forth between Bruce and Jason and decidedly took a step away from Bruce and closer to Jason. “I would like to stay here with Jason.”

“You are more likely to recover faster at the manor,” Bruce argued, anger seeping into his voice. Or… no anger wasn’t quite the right word. It was close, but not quite. Frustration, his mind supplied him with.

“I believe this is still my decision and I would like to stay here.” He wasn’t comfortable voicing opinions so strongly yet, but Jason had told him he was allowed to do and feel what he wanted here, so he had to trust that.

Jason stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Dick, they might be right. You might remember faster at the manor, and it’s even better protected than this place. If you want to be here I want you here, but I want you to be sure it’s what you want to do.”

Dick placed a hand over Jason’s. “I’m sure. I want to stay.”

Jason looked to Bruce. “We can do visits to the manor, but he hasn’t gotten to make his own choices for the past year, and I’m not letting you take that from him,” he said firmly.

Bruce looked like he still wanted to argue, but that last point seemed to make him soften. “Visit at least twice a week. We’re not the only ones who miss him.”

“And as long as we’re given warning, you guys can visit here. The more he sees familiar faces the better. So text ahead,” Jason said, and it sounded almost like agreement.

“Should we tell Damian before he gets back from his mission with Jon tomorrow then?” Stephanie asked. “Or wait so that he doesn’t ditch tonight?”

“I’ll inform him once he is back. There is no reason to jeopardize his mission and put Jon at any potential risk.”

Jason sighed. “Text me right before you do then, because he won’t listen to that rule.” He turned to Dick before he could ask. “Damian is Bruce’s son, but you’re also a little like a father to him, and you’re pretty much the only one he isn’t a little ball of anger around all the time.”

“I see,” and Dick felt guilt build in his chest again at not even being able to remember someone who saw him as a parental figure. “I hope I do not disappoint.”

“I can make a group chat about visits once everyone knows so that we can all coordinate that better,” Steph offered.

Dick wasn’t too sure what a group chat was, but it sounded helpful, so he simply nodded and thanked Steph. Everyone stayed at the apartment for as long as they could just so they could be with Dick, telling him what he had forgotten and what he had missed during the last year. Mostly they shared stories where all of them had been together, happily bonding. Dick desperately hoped that one day he could remember these stories as well rather than simply told about them.

Jason looked a little drained by the time he closed the door behind them, flopping down on the couch, still careful of his injured shoulder as he did so. “That wasn’t too much for you, right? I only planned to introduce you to one of them today.”

Dick shook his head. “It was nice. You look very tired though.”

“I just haven’t spent that much time around Bruce in a while,” Jason told him.

“Would you mind if I asked about that?” Dick asked quietly, unsure if he should.

“We just don’t agree on a lot of things, and it sometimes makes being around each other hard,” Jason answered without giving him much information at all.

“I see. You both are very stubborn.” Dick had noticed the two shared the trait during the day.

Jason snorted. “Like you’re one to talk about that.”

Dick supposed that even with the court, he could be pretty hard headed as well. “Perhaps it is a trait we all share. You should rest if you are tired.” Dick did not think he would be able to sleep tonight. He was unused to sleeping more than a few hours every few nights.

“No no, I’m fine. I need to make us dinner anyway,” Jason dragged himself off of the couch and headed towards the kitchen.

“But we have already eaten,” Dick said with confusion and a slight tilt of his head.

“That was breakfast. You’re supposed to eat three meals a day. We sort of skipped the middle one with all the comotion though,” Jason explained as he started taking things out from his fridge and freezer.

“I have only ever needed and been provided one.”

“Which is probably why you don’t fit in your clothes anymore,” Jason’s tone was casual, but the downward tilt of his mouth definitely conveyed displeasure.

Dick leaned over to hug Jason just as Steph and Bruce had done for him earlier. “This upsets you.”

Jason tensed up for a moment, but it seemed more from surprise than disliking the gesture because he soon relaxed again. “It does,” he agreed.

“I have managed to sustain myself until now. You do not need to worry.”

“A bit late for that, but it’s fine. We both need the food,” Jason told him.

Dick pulled away with an uncertain smile. “It felt nice when Steph and Bruce hugged me, I hoped it would make you feel better as well.”

Jason offered a small smile back. “It did. Thank you.”

Dick let Jason go to make food, but even with how delicious his cooking was, Dick was not sure how much he was going to be able to stomach given how accustomed he had become to eating little. If it made Jason happy though, he was sure he would be able to do it. He had a strong feeling that in his forgotten life he would have done anything to make Jason happy.

* * *

“I can’t believe that none of you bothered to tell me that Grayson was back for a full twenty four hours,” an angry voice sounded as a young teen, who had to be Damian, entered Jason’s home.

“You were in another country,” Barbara, who had come over that morning with Cass, answered.

“Bruce didn’t even fucking text me you were coming,” Jason grumbled, but Damian seemed to have blocked them out as he was now just staring at Dick.

“You are Robin.” Dick didn’t need someone to tell him that, he could figure from the size of the boy along with everyone else’s identities having been revealed to him.

“So you do remember me?” Damian looked so openly hopeful for a moment.

“I am sorry, but I do not. It was an inference.” It hurt to see the hope completely drain away.

“Right- right of course,” his whole body seemed to slump a little.

Dick still kneeled down and offered Damian a hug which Damian returned, wrapping his arms tight around Dick. “I am hopeful that I will remember one day.”

“Don’t take it too hard, Damian. Just save your anger for the court,” Barbara pitched in.

“Oh they will be getting plenty of it,” Damian agreed.

“He will remember,” Cass said with certainty.

“How can you be so sure?” Dick asked, letting go of Damian, still with a small apologetic smile directed towards him.

“You have not tried to kill any of us since Jason. And you could not kill him. Steph was a misunderstanding.”

“I do not think that means I will fully recover my memories, but thank you for the sentiment.”

“You do not hurt us, because some part of you remembers us,” Cass insisted.

Dick simply smiled at her. “Only time will tell.”

“I guess I’m ordering pizza then. I’m not cooking for this many people,” Jason announced.

Dick was not very hungry, having been made to eat breakfast despite having dinner the night before. He left Damian’s side to go to Jason and spoke in small voice. “What is pizza?”

“Oh, uh, it’s food. It comes in a circle, and they slice it up so you can take pieces of it. It’s bread with tomato sauce and cheese, baked together and you can put other toppings and stuff on it,” Jason explained.

“Would you share it with me?”

“You’ve called my pizza choices boring before since I only get pepperoni as a topping, but sure, if you want,” Jason told him.

Dick nodded. He wasn’t sure what things would even go on pizza. Dick quickly learned that he liked pizza, and that almost anything could be put on top, given the variety of toppings everyone got.

Everyone that came stayed about as long as everyone the previous day, each of them telling their own stories. Barbara had been in the middle of telling him one that he supposed was supposed to be embarrassing for him. It was about their first game of what the group called rooftop tag when Barbara first became Batgirl and Dick had apparently been so infatuated that he was lured into crashing into a fire escape.  

Everyone laughed openly at that, even Cassandra who seemed more closed off than the rest, but Dick’s eyes were drawn to Jason. Jason, who for the first time since he’d come to his apartment, was laughing and smiling so brightly and Dick felt his stomach fall. There was an odd flurry he felt in his abdomen, but Dick couldn’t look away. For the first time, Dick realized how beautiful Jason was and he was sure that even now, despite remembering nothing about him, he would do anything to keep seeing that smile.

Faintly, out of the corner of his eye, he could see both Cassandra and Barbara smile at him knowingly, but he only had eyes for Jason.

It was Damian who ended up breaking the spell. “You are drooling, Grayson.”

Dick wiped at his mouth, unsure if Damian was being serious. “No I am not.”

“You might as well be,” Barbara laughed. It sounded fond though.

Jason looked a little confused. “What are you guys talking about? He makes that face all the time.”

Barbara just laughed harder.

“Disgusting,” Damian sneered.

“Is there something wrong with the face I am making?”

“No,” Cass stared them all down.

“You’re fine, Dick,” Barbara said as she calmed down from her laughing.

“Your laughing makes me think otherwise.”

“Really, you’re fine. I remember seeing that face a lot too.”

“Love,” Cass supplied simply. Jason choked on a sip of water.

Dick had not expected that to be the answer, he didn’t know if he would regain all the emotions he held before his memories were taken from him. But that answer made sense and it explained all the oddities that happened in his chest and stomach just at the sight of Jason. “I see. I am glad that has not been taken from me.”

“It is why I am sure you will remember us,” Cass smiled at him.

It did inspire a glimmer of hope in him. “Thank you, Cass.”

* * *

The group left, all looking a little happier than when they came and Jason had taken all the dirty dishes to the sink while Dick had spent the better part of five minutes assuring Damian that they had agreed to visit the manor.

It had been a completely mindless thing. Dick circled into the kitchen to offer Jason some assistance. “Did you want any help, Little Wing?” He hadn’t fully realized he had said anything out of the ordinary at all, and probably would not have, had it not been for how Jason reacted.

Which was dropping the plate he was holding. It shattered on the floor, but Jason hardy seemed to notice as he stared slack jawed at Dick.

“Are you alright? Is something wrong?” Dick quickly rushed to his side, mindful of the shards on the ground.

“Wh- you just- what did you call me?”

“I,” and it was then that Dick realized what he had said, “I called you Little Wing, because you’ve always been my Little Wing.”

Jason stepped over the glass shards and pulled Dick into a hug so tight it took his feet off the ground for a moment. “You’re remembering! You’ve been calling me that since I was a kid,” Jason smiled wide and bright at him, eyes shining with happiness.

Jason’s happiness was to beautiful and so infectious that Dick couldn’t help but smile just as widely back at him, hugging him back with all he had. “I am remembering,” and saying that was the greatest relief he had ever felt because he had truly doubted that he would.

Jason set him back down, but still held onto him, smile refusing to leave his face. “I’m so glad. And the others will be too.”

Looking into his eyes and then his lips, Dick finally gave in and kissed Jason’s smile, feeling warmth burst through his chest at the touch of their lips. And it only felt warmer when Jason reached up to cup Dick’s face and kiss back. It was amazing, and it felt completely right, until he got the strange taste of salt and a wet feeling and he pulled back in confusion to find a few tears rolling down Jason’s face.

“I-I’m sorry,” Jason wiped his eyes. “I shouldn’t have… we can’t do that,” he told Dick gently, taking a step back.

Dick wanted to chase after his touch, wanted to stay in his arms, but the tears on Jason’s face and the ache in the center of his chest stopped him from doing so. “Why not?” He asked quietly.

“Because you don’t remember me, Dick. It’s not fair to either of us.”

“But…” Dick bit his lip, “but you love me.”

And Jason looked a little like he was in physical pain as he nodded his agreement. “I do. More than I’ve ever loved anything else. But you’re not yourself right now, because you don’t remember yourself.” He ran a hand through his hair before scrubbing at his eyes again.

And Dick now understood how much rejection hurt, because he could feel his throat constrict and his heart lurch at Jason’s words. “I know I love you, but if you wish to wait then I will wait.”

“I’m sorry,” Jason looked like he wanted to reach out to Dick again, but held himself back. “I shouldn’t have gone along with the kiss. I just- for a few seconds it felt like everything was back to normal, but I shouldn’t have done that because it just hurt you. I’m so sorry, Dick.”

Even though the rejection did hurt, the regret and guilt he saw in Jason’s eyes hurt so much more. He reached back up to cup Jason’s face, wiping away a stray tear. “I have been in pain much worse than this,” physically at the very least, “I will be fine.”

“At least now we know you are starting to remember though. So it’s not a no forever. Just for right now,” Jason assured him, placing his hand over Dick’s. And Dick could only offer him a small smile that he knew didn’t reach his eyes in response.

Jason offered back an equally forced looking smile before pulling back. “I should clean up the glass on the floor before one of us steps on it.”

“I can do this. You can go back to the dishes,” Dick said, already crouching down to pick up the larger pieces.

“Be careful with your hands,” Jason warned. “We’ve got a broom and dustpan in the pantry,” he pointed towards it.

Dick nodded without looking back up at him. He knew the hurt was still on both their faces, and he did not want to see the sadness on Jason’s face any longer when he could do nothing about it.

* * *

Jason put up a good show of acting like nothing had happened the next morning. He made breakfast, and Dick finally got to try this cereal that he claimed was Dick’s favorite, because Barbara had brought some with her the day before. Jason was right, he did think it was amazing. He got food and drink in one bowel and it was amazingly sweet.

And then after that they drove out to the manor. Which was huge. “Hey Alfred, good to see you,” Jason greeted the man who opened the door for them with a small smile.

Despite the man’s professional display at their arrival, his face broke into a large, teary smile at the sight of Dick. “Welcome back, Master Jason, and a very special welcome back to you Master Dick.” Alfred left his place at the door to pull Dick into a hug, a reaction he was used to by now.

“Master? I do not- was there ever a time I was a Master?”

“No, Alf just calls most of us that,” Jason told him.

“I am glad to see you back, my boy,” Alfred smiled at him like they hadn’t said anything. “Would you like me to prepare you a snack? You have gotten awfully thin.”

Dick shook his head, “I do not require one, thank you, Alfred.”

Stephanie came running out to meet them. “Dick! Jay said you started to remember things last night, have you gotten anything else?” She asked excitedly.

“I have not unfortu-“ Dick cut himself off at a smell that started to permeate through the manor. “Is that cookies? Could I actually have that snack, Alfred?” Dick looked at him hopefully.

“Of course, Master Dick. I have taken the liberty to make your favourite.”

Dick beamed a smile. “Your cookies are the best.”

Stephanie was practically vibrating with excitement and Jason was smiling at him again.

It didn’t really strike Dick that that was a memory he had lost. It felt like something he had just always known as fact. “They’re coming back gradually.”

“That’s great! So Cass was right!”

“It seems to be small things so far, but hopefully more will come soon,” Jason told her as they walked towards the kitchen where the cookies were.

“Hopefully,” Dick agreed.

“No matter how slowly you regain them, your family will be here for you through the entire journey,” Alfred assured him.

“He’s right,” Tim agreed, strolling into the kitchen and taking a cookie.

Most of the family came to the kitchen to greet him, each offering to show him different parts of the manor, but Alfred told them all to let Dick naturally explore the manor on his own and that his own room might be the best place to start. It was Jason who led him there despite Jason looking entirely uncomfortable just being in the manor.

He led Dick to a room that looked like it hadn’t been touched in years, yet was still kept in pristine condition. It was decorated in multiple pictures, many of people he recognized from meeting them recently and many he didn’t. There was one particular picture that drew his eyes. It was a poster from a circus, framed and put directly in front of his bed. The poster read “The Flying Grayson’s’ and featured three silhouettes looking as though they were taking off into the sky and suddenly he could hear it.

He heard Old Man Haly announce them on stage, his mom hugging him right before they went out. His parents taking off into the sky and then they were falling. He remembered screaming, he remembered seeing their bodies motionless on the ground and he remembered all the grief he felt at watching his whole world collapse. He could faintly feel tears streaming down his face as he reached out to the framed poster.

Jason stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You remember them?”

“My parents.” Dick’s voice broke with his response.

“Yes. John and Mary Grayson,” Jason told him.

“They died right in front of me.” Dick wiped at his face but he couldn’t look away from the poster.

Jason wrapped his arms around him from behind so he wasn’t blocking Dick’s view of the poster, pulling him against his chest. “They did. And then Bruce took you in and you became the first Robin, using a lot of the skills your parents taught you.”

Dick clutched at one of Jason’s hands that rested over his waist as he continued to wipe away his tears. Jason let him cry until his eyes were red and puffy. When he finally found the will to leave the room, he felt an urge to give Bruce a hug because along with his grief, he also remembered Bruce’s kindness and guidance during that time.

“You wanna take a break from exploring?” Jason asked uncertainty, closing the door to Dick’s old room behind them.

Dick nodded. “You do not look very comfortable exploring the manor anyway.”

“I’ll be fine. This place just holds a lot of memories for me too,” he led Dick back to the kitchen and got him a glass of water.

“Is this not where you also grew up?”

“For about four years,” Jason agreed. “My departure wasn’t the best though.”

Tim walked into the room before Dick could enquirer further about that, concern washing over his face when he got a look at Dick. “What happened?”

“He remembered his parents when he saw the Flying Graysons poster,” Jason supplied so that he wouldn’t have to. “Would you mind if I ducked outside for a few minutes?” He added.

“I’ll be fine hanging out with him,” Tim assured, and Jason left out through the sliding glass doors to the back porch. And Dick finally understood why Jason tended to smell like smoke as he watched him light a cigarette outside, Barbara rolling over to him to give a disapproving look that he just waved off, and they started chatting, but Dick couldn’t hear them through the door.

Dick took a sip of his water before speaking. “I had been so focused on getting my memories back, I forgot about the possibility of painful memories as well.”

“Unfortunately you have a lot of those. But there’s also a lot of good ones. And you’re remembering things faster than expected,” Tim offered a reassuring smile.

“I’ve been a little impatient to remember everything. I just want what I had before it was taken from me,” Dick frowned. He hated not knowing everything about himself. He hated not remembering anything about people who were supposed to mean the world to him. But most of all, he hated that despite knowing that he loved Jason and that Jason loved him back, his lack of memory was keeping them apart.

He must have been staring at Jason through the glass, because Tim glanced that way as well and seemed to pick up on his train of thought. “Did something happen between you two? You seemed a little different around each other when you first got here, and it usually takes another hour or two of him being here for him to start stress smoking.”

“I love him.” Saying it to Tim was oddly easy. He had a feeling he used to confide in Tim a lot.

“And he loves you,” Tim said with certainty. “You guys were starting to talk about marriage before you went missing.”

“He doesn’t think we should be together until I regain my memories. I am not impartial enough to decide if he is right.”

Tim leaned back in his chair as he seemed to consider it. “I’m not impartial either, but I get where he’s coming from. You’re kind of a different person without your memories. And you still feel love for him, but you don’t remember any of the reasons why you love him.”

“My lack of memory itself is very frustrating. I don’t know a thing about myself. I don’t know anything about you despite how much I feel I can trust you.”

“Well that’s something you know about me. That you trusted me before you lost your memory. So it’s not nothing,” Tim pointed out. “And I’ll tell you anything about me or yourself that you want to know.”

“Thank you,” Dick huffed out a sigh. He appreciated the offer, but it was information he should already have. It wasn’t the same if he had to relearn it.

“I’ll give you a ride home if you want to stay longer, by the way,” Tim told him, glancing out at Jason again who had taken out a second cigarette which Barbara tried to snatch away from him, but he dodged before she could. “I give him about two hours before he bails, and Alfred will be very disappointed if you miss dinner.”

“I would like to spend more time with everyone without causing Jason further discomfort.”

“He just gets that way about this place. Especially when he’s not here for a case. It’s why we usually come to him when we want to hang out. So we can just tell him that I can give you a ride when he comes back in, so he knows he can leave whenever.”

Dick nodded as he looked to the stress evident on Jason’s face, “That sounds as though it would be the best compromise.”

* * *

“Hey, did you have fun with everyone?” Jason asked when Dick walked into the apartment later that night, arms full of leftovers that Alfred had insisted he take with him since Jason had missed dinner.

“Yes,” Dick smiled, placing the leftovers on the coffee table. “Bruce even joined without Alfred needing to pester him to do so. I realized that was something out of the ordinary as we ate.”

“I’m sure he wanted to spend more time with you,” Jason said, getting up from the couch and moving the leftovers he’d put down to the fridge in the kitchen.

“Yes, I got that impression, despite his silence. Are you not going to eat?”

“I had some food before you got here, we can just heat these up tomorrow,” he answered as he closed the door to the refrigerator.

Dick didn’t really like the mental image of Jason eating alone while he spent his dinner with the entire family. “Maybe next time we visit we should do it closer to dinner. Alfred was sad to see you go.”

Jason smiled a little at him. “We could do that,” he agreed. “Alfred did teach me most of what I know about cooking after all.”

“He expressed regrets of you not being able to help in the kitchen, as you apparently like to do.” Dick sat himself down on the couch, opposite the one Jason had been occupying. “Did I ever express interest in cooking? You seem to be used to doing it all.”

“You are a terrible cook,” Jason told him with a short laugh. “I’ve banned you from using our oven or stove.”

Dick felt a bite of indignancy. “I cannot be that bad at it. I’m sure I could get it if you instructed me through it.”

He only laughed harder at that. “Dickiebird, the fire department got tired of us calling when I tried to teach you,” Jason told him.

“That does not mean my next attempt will end the same way.” Dick was pretty sure he was pouting. He couldn’t remember a single time he ever had, but he was sure it was what he was doing.

“Make the eyes at me all you want, I’m not letting you near the oven,” he grinned at Dick.

“I suppose we already have too much food anyway.” Dick was still pouting.

“I don’t know if you realize how many times we’ve had this conversation, but you never win,” Jason informed him.

“That cannot be right. You have let me touch the stove enough to disturb the fire department, so I must have won a few times.”

“It wasn’t much of an argument then. I still thought there was a chance you could learn.”

“I could succeed one day, you never know.”

“No, because you see, I had to promise a fireman that I wouldn’t let you cook anymore because they were wasting resources on our kitchen that could be used for other things.” 

Dick was still frowning, but he had no argument against that. “What about baking?”

“Also not allowed.”

“I believe it is possible to be proficient at baking while being terrible at cooking.”

Jason opened the oven and motioned Dick forward. “See those singe marks? Cookies you tried to make using the same argument.”

Dick just frowned harder. “I suppose it is lucky that I love your cooking.”

“Think of it this way. Some part of you remembers those arguments, because you’re using a lot of the same lines.”

“It could also be because those arguments are logical.”

“Not really. This is the most you’ve sounded like yourself in the past few days though.”

And that did have Dick smiling. “Then I suppose that is good news.”

* * *

It wasn’t until late the next night that something went wrong. He awoke to the sound of fighting and when he reached the living room it was to find Jason engaging in combat with a Talon. And suddenly he understood why the Court had feared him so much. There were two other Talon’s already on the ground, and they couldn’t have been there that long without waking Dick considering all the noise they were making.

“You. Traitor to the Court. You are to return with me after I have killed the Red Hood,” the Talon said upon seeing Dick.

“You’ll have to kill me first, and your buddies weren’t able to,” Jason aimed another attack at the Talon, and he probably would have won the fight if the Talon didn’t abruptly change the angle of its knife so that it was aimed at Dick instead.

And for the second time that week, Dick watched as Jason threw himself in front of a knife to save someone else with no regard for himself, but this time instead of a shoulder wound the knife went into his stomach, and the Talon was walking towards him to finish the job.

Dick didn’t think, he just acted. He threw himself at the Talon, tackling him to the floor before he could get anywhere near Jason. “No! You’re not taking him away from me again!” Without hesitation, he pulled a knife from the Talon’s suit and ran it through its stomach, the same place it had hurt Jason, but then pulled the knife out and drove it into the Talon’s head to make sure it would stay down.

He didn’t wait for the Talon to stop moving to run back to Jason, knowing that it would die from the wound. He was distinctly aware of the tears streaming down his face at the sight of Jason covered in blood. “No,” he managed to choke out, dropping to his knees and lifting Jason’s head onto his lap, “Not again. I can’t lose you again.”

It was then that Dick registered what he had said. He had lost Jason before. Jason had died before. Dick had failed him once already and he was going to fail him again.

Jason reached out and placed a hand over Dick’s, offering what might have been a reassuring smile if there wasn’t blood on his lips. “It’s fine, Dick. I’m fine,” he blatantly lied, sounding like he had to force the words out.

“No, no it’s not.” The words were getting harder to force out, and it was getting increasingly difficult to breathe. “I have- I have to call Tim, call Alfred. I- I can’t lose you again.” But Dick couldn’t find it within him to move from Jason’s side, like Jason would be gone the minute he left.

“I sent an alert when they broke in. Someone will come. Probably,” Jason told him, his eyes starting to droop like he was struggling to keep them open.

“No, Jason, please. You have to stay awake, please.” Dick clutched Jason’s hand like it was enough to keep him with him. “Talk to me, tell me something, tell me anything.”

“I love you,” Jason answered almost immediately.

That only made Dick cry harder. “Fuck, don’t do this to me. Don't make it seem like you’re dying because you’re not going to.” Dick was shaking, his hands wouldn’t stop trembling. “I love you too, so you can’t die.”

“Did that once. It sucked. Not aiming to do it again. You’ve gotta put some pressure on the wound though to slow the bleeding or I’m going to bleed out,” he instructed.

“The knife it still there, what if I end up pushing it in more?” Dick still reluctantly followed Jason’s instructions and pressed down on the wound, doing his best to avoid the knife.

“I’m sure we’ll know if you do,” Jason answered.

“Holy shit,” Tim breathed when he came in through Jason’s window. “What happened?” He was already heading towards the bathroom for the first aid kit.

“Talons. The Court is not happy.” Dick had somehow managed to gain control of his breathing at some point between forcing himself to stop Jason’s bleeding and Tim’s arrival. He was still a mess of tears though. “Tim, tell me you can help him.”

“I can try. Wash your hands and call Bruce. Jason’s not gonna like it, but they’ve got the same blood type,” Tim said, and Jason made a vague sound of protest, but at this point was too close to passing out to actually argue.

Dick was still reluctant to leave Jason’s side, but with Tim now there, he felt a little more confident that Jason wouldn’t die on him the minute he stepped away. He gently lowered Jason’s head from his lap and grabbed for Jason’s phone before he even washed his hands, calling Bruce to tell him to come to their apartment.

Tim was just finishing patching Jason up when Bruce got there, blood transfusion supplies already in hand.

“We’re going to have to move him to the cave,” Bruce said as Tim stuck the needle in him.

“He’ll wake up better in one of his safe houses,” Tim pointed out.

“There is better medical care and an assurance that both of them will be fed in the cave.”

“If you want to deal with the mood he’ll be in waking up there, it’s on you,” Tim shrugged, getting up to wash the blood off of his hands now that he couldn’t do much else for Jason.

“He can be moved to one of his safe houses after we are sure he is stable.”

“I presume you brought something better than the Batmobile to transfer him in?”

“I brought the copter, it’s on the roof.” Dick wasn’t sure how, considering he wasn’t sure if the roof was big enough to even hold a helicopter. But with some combined efforts they got Jason up there, and sure enough there was a chopper precariously balanced on the roof.

“I can’t believe you actually brought the copter, it barely fits up here,” Tim said as they got in.

“Of course I did. Jason was in danger.”

* * *

It took a little while for Jason to wake up in the cave, and when he did he took one look around himself and promptly tried to get out of the cot that had been set up, despite the IV and machinery he was hooked up to. It didn’t really work well though because the second he sat up the color drained out of his face and he was flat on his back again.

“You haven’t had much time to heal. You should rest more.” Dick, who had been in the cave all night, not managing to sleep a wink, was by his side in an instant.

Jason didn’t acknowledge that, eyes locking on Dick instead and quickly surveying him. “You’re okay, right? You weren’t hurt?”

“How can I be hurt when you throw yourself at every hit?” Dick was trying for a light tone, but he meant his words. He had been worried sick over Jason’s well being, even after Alfred assured him Jason would be fine. All he could think about during the last few hours was Jason hurling himself in front of a knife meant for him, and bleeding out on the floor.

“Because I went down after that and you handled the rest. You’re really okay though?”

“They did not land a single hit on me,” Dick assured him. “How are you feeling?”

“About how you’d expect. How long have I been out?”

“Less than a day, which is why you should rest more.”

“I’ll rest at a safe house,” he muttered, sitting up a bit slower this time.

“Bruce said that we can transfer to a safe house when you are stable, and Alfred said we are not going anywhere until he has managed to feed both of us at least once, and that we have to tell him which safe house we will be going to so that he can continue to feed us.” Dick took Jason’s hand in his and have him a tender look. “I am inclined to agree with both of them in the matter of taking care of you.”

Jason sighed and laid back down. “I guess it can wait a little for Alfred’s food.” His brows then furrowed as he seemed to remember something. “...do I have Bruce’s blood in me?”

“I have been told you would not like the answer to that.” Tim had anticipated Jason asking exactly that.

Jason, predictably, looked upset. “Damn right I don’t. Babs also has the same blood type. Even if she doesn’t have a private chopper to get her to our place.”

“Bruce was the faster option. The important this is that you are alive and recovering. There was a moment that I was sure I was going to lose you again.” Dick sighed and slouched down to lean his forehead against Jason’s shoulder. “You have died before, I can’t have you doing it again.”

“You remember that?” Jason asked, running his fingers through Dick’s hair soothingly.

“When you got stabbed,” Dick confirmed. “I saw you bleeding, and all I could think about was failing you twice.”

Jason frowned up at him and reached out to cup his face in one hand. “Dick, I know you don’t remember, but we’ve had this discussion. You didn’t fail me. My death had nothing to do with you. In fact, we barely knew each other. You’ve gotta stop blaming yourself for that.”

“Then why is it that the only thing I remember is not being there for you?”

“Because you weren’t even on this planet, and again we barely knew each other.”

“And what about this time? That knife was meant for me.”

“And I took it instead, and then you made sure I didn’t actually die. So there was no failing me involved. I made the choice to protect you, and you protected me after that.”

Dick exhaled a shuddering breath. “While I was waiting for you to wake up, I remembered more. I remembered all the times I’ve had to look at you from this chair. When you got shot here,” Dick hand trailed over to Jason’s side. “When you got stabbed here,” he moved his hand up, landing close to Jason’s current stab wound. “A head wound. A bullet grazing your neck. There’s been so many.”

“It’s part of my job,” Jason told him. “I’ve been in that same chair, just as worried about you.” Jason moved his hand from Dick’s face to run over scars that he couldn’t remember getting. “It’s what we do to keep people safe. We put ourselves in danger.”

Dick just pulled himself closer to Jason to fully hug him, despite how awkward it was with the bed in the way.

“Dick, I know this is supposed to be like full of feelings and all, but maybe be a little more careful hugging the guy that just got stabbed,” Jason said with a strained smile.

“Sorry,” Dick immediately eased off him, but didn’t completely let go. “We should tell Alfred you are awake so he can feed you.”

“As much as I love Alfred’s cooking, something about just getting a knife taken out of my stomach makes the idea of food less appealing. Do you think he’d let me off with just a smoothie?”

“He’s made you something liquid,” Dick assured him.

Jason looked a little relieved. “Good good, I don’t think I could do much more than that.”

“Alfred is always one step ahead, apparently.” Dick had come to realize that during his short time at the manor.

“He’s been dealing with all of us for years, and Bruce even before that, I’d be more impressed if he wasn’t at this point.”

Dick nodded in agreement, as he reluctantly moved away from Jason to press the comm near Jason’s bed to tell Alfred that Jason was awake.

“Thank you, Master Dick. Perhaps you will accept a meal now as well.”

“I suppose my appetite has returned enough.” Between Jason and Alfred constantly trying to feed him he was getting more used to regular meals, and even starting to fit a little better in his clothing.

* * *

“No,” Stephanie said simply, blocking their exit from the manor and folding her arms over her chest.

“Not funny, Steph. You know I’m not staying here,” Jason answered.

“I know, I meant no you’re not going to some random safe house. That’s not gonna help Dick remember at all. So, I talked to Tim, Cass, and Kon, and you guys can stay with us.”

“Wouldn’t we be a bit of a handful in your already full place?”

“Yes, absolutely. But Jason has panic attacks when he stays here too long,” Jason scowled at her for that, but she barely batted an eye, “so the manor is out, the Court found your place, so that’s out too. Our place though, is a three bedroom, where Cass and I share a room and Tim and Kon share another, so there’s a room and a couch left. Which means there’s space for you to recover memories.”

“I would rather not intrude.” There was a difference between staying at the manor and Jason’s apartment and staying with Steph, Tim, Cass and Kon. Even if he didn’t fully remember, the manor and Jason’s apartment had a distinct sense of home. Like he belonged there. He did not get the same feeling from the others’ home.

“It’s not an intrusion if I’m telling you to stay with us,” she insisted.

Dick was still discomfited by the suggestion. “I’m not really the one that needs the most healing. Maybe we should let Jay decide.”

“I’m good with it, but if you don’t want to we don’t have to, Dick,” Jason answered.

Dick chewed on his lip but relented with a sigh. “It would be better for your recovery if we did.”

“I’ll recover fine either way. You don’t look sure,” Jason said.

“If it’s about that not intruding thing, you know that we all want to spend more time with you, right? Like, you’ve been gone for a year. We only just got you back. We aren’t sick of you yet.”

“I’m just making sure. Just because you all miss me does not mean you are all comfortable with me invading your space. I barely even know Kon.”

“Ah, but just hearing about him and you already know that you barely know him; see it’s already helping your memory. Now you’ve gotta stay with us.” She grinned at them.

Dick looked between Jason and Steph and gave in. “Alright. Tim would be better at monitoring your health than I would anyway.”

“Great! Then I’m driving you to our place!” She said excitedly, leading them out towards one of Bruce’s cars.

Dick stayed by Jason’s side the entire way there. He knew his worrying was a little too much, but he couldn’t help it, he wanted to make sure that Jason was okay.

They were greeted by everyone else who lived there once they arrived at the apartment.

“Oh good, I was worried Steph wouldn’t be able to talk you guys into it,” Kon said from the couch where he and Tim were watching a movie.

“Excuse you! I’m a great convincer. Jason didn’t even hesitate to say yes,” she huffed.

“She did need to convince me,” Dick cut in. “Are you sure you’re okay with us staying here?”

“Sure. We’ve got the space for it. And I’ve always gotten along with both of you,” Kon shrugged.

“And you guys know me and Cass are always glad to see you,” Tim added.

“I’m glad to hear that, especially since you’ll have to see more of me than Jason since I’ll be staying on the couch.”

“I’d usually argue, but I’ll let it slide this time since I did get stabbed,” Jason grudgingly agreed.

“Good, because there is no way I’m letting you sleep on a couch with a hole in your stomach.”

“You’re exaggerating. Tim stitched me up, it’s not a hole any more.”

“Don’t use me in this argument, I’m just trying to live my life and introduce my boyfriend to Space Jam, because he hasn’t seen it.”

“I don’t get it-“

“Shhh. You will,” Tim insisted, covering Kon’s mouth.

“What’s Space Jam?” Dick asked and got wide eyes from everyone in the room save for Kon.

“We are rewinding,” Tim said, already picking up the remote.

“Do we have to?” Kon asked.

“Yes,” Steph and Tim said at the same time.

“Is it something I’m going to like?”

“You own a shirt for it, so I’ll go with yes,” Jason answered, squeezing himself between Kon and Tim and smirking at the looks they gave him.

Dick sat down next to Steph and started watching the movie with as much skepticism as Kon openly showed. By the end he and Steph were loudly singing together. “C’mon and slam and welcome to the jam!”

“Well, at least you sound more like you,” Tim told him as the credits rolled. “You guys did that every time before you went missing too.”

“Why wouldn’t I? That was amazing.”

“It was okay at best,” Kon replied, getting a matching offended gasp from Steph and Dick.

“It was a work of art!” Dick insisted.

“You know, I might not mind giving up some memories if I could watch amazing movies for the first time again,” Steph mused.

“You’d forget Cass,” Kon pointed out.

“I said _some_ ,” she defended. “I just want to rewatch movies.” She glanced at Dick. “Was that insensitive?”

Dick didn’t feel particularly offended so he shook his head. “It’s not like we naturally remember every detail in our lives. Just watch it again in maybe five years, it’ll be just as fun.”

“But I won’t be surprised by the twists anymore,” she complained. “Also I’m not waiting five years to watch my favorite movies again.”

“You’re right. Five years is a very long time. Maybe we should just watch them all now.” Dick just really wanted to see what other movies he apparently loved and forgot.

“Movie night!” Steph declared excitedly.

“I guess I’m making popcorn then,” Tim got up off of the couch.

Dick settled into his place as Steph pulled up a movie called Mean Girls and half way through the movie, Dick knew he would be quoting it endlessly.

By the end of the night, everyone seemed to either be retiring to bed or getting ready to head to the cave for patrol. Dick was tired, having not slept since the night Jason had gotten hurt, a good three days ago, but stayed awake for the sake of making sure Jason got to bed fine. “Alfred said bed rest is good for you,” Dick said as he helped Jason off the couch.

“Yeah yeah, not like I wasn’t passed out in the cave for several hours,” Jason muttered, even as he let Dick lead him.

“The healing need to sleep more. This time you can do it with the enjoyment of me not watching you like a hawk.”

“Yeah. That was weird. If it weren’t you I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at all.”

“I needed to be there for when you woke up to make sure you would be okay.”

“You actually need to get some rest. Don’t think I missed the circles under your eyes.”

“I feel fine,” Dick shrugged. He was really tired, he’d also started to get accustomed to sleeping more while staying with Jason, but Jason didn’t need to worry.

“If I have to go to bed, so do you. Or I swear I’ll put on my Red Hood outfit and try to go on patrol.”

“I’ll sleep, I promise, now go to bed.” Dick was holding the blanket in a way that made it look like he was ready to tuck Jason in, which he was, but Jason snatched the blanket away from him and laid down himself.

“Good night, Dick,” he said, pointing towards the door. “Go to sleep.”

Dick still grabbed and pulled Jason’s blanket up higher to his chin, giving his hair a ruffle instead of the kiss he wanted to give him. “Good night, Little Wing.”

* * *

Spending enough time with Tim and Kon meant that Dick quickly remembered all of Tim’s complaints or grievances of when he was hopelessly in love with his best friend and didn’t think he could tell him. And as a good big brother figure, Dick had to tell Kon all about it and embarrass Tim.

“He told me it was unfair that he had to suppress all his gay thoughts every time you hugged him because your chest was so perfect,” Dick laughed as he and Kon lounged on the couch.

“I’m happy that you’re remembering things, but shut up, Kon doesn’t need to hear about my prerelationship crisis,” Tim said while Kon laughed.

“Why not? He looks like he’s having fun, and I think this is just making him love you more.”

“He’s right. I think it’s adorable,” Kon told him, pulling Tim closer to his chest, while Tim tried to simultaneously glare at both of them.

“Oh oh! He also hated it when you switched your costume to just the black t-shirt. He said it was too tight and very distracting”

“Shut up!” Tim threw a pillow at Dick while Kon laughed even more.

“My old costume was kinda tight,” Kon pointed out.

“Yeah, but it was covered by a jacket, and you wore stupid sunglasses,” Tim argued.

“Hey! I liked those glasses. I still have them,” he complained.

“What did they look like?” Dick asked curiously.

“Giant circles,” Tim answered, mining them with his fingers over his eyes.

“But Timmy, those types of glasses are so fun.” He’d seen pictures of people wearing what Tim was describing and Dick thought they looked pretty good.

“See, Dick gets it.” Kon grinned at him.

“Why didn’t I know you better when I had all my memories? You’re great,” Dick grinned and Kon.

“We were both pretty busy, and Tim thought it would be weird.”

“Tim still thinks it’s weird,” Tim muttered.

“Shouldn’t it be a good thing for your boyfriend and your family to get along?”

“You guys can totally get along. Just not enough to embarrass me.”

“Where’s the fun in that,” Dick grinned, poking Tim’s cheek.

“It’s fun for me, because I don’t get embarrassed.”

“You know we love you Timmy.”

“That does not make it less embarrassing.”

“Aww, come on Tim,” Kon grinned at him. “He’s getting his memories back, he’s acting like himself, we should encourage this. Any more memories about mine and Tim’s relationship?”

“Jason-” and as if on cue, Jason came out from the room he was given, “threatened to kill you if you hurt Tim, and Tim threatened to maim Jason if he as much as touched kryptonite.” Dick dutifully got off the couch to help Jason to it.

“Oh, I know. Jason relayed that to me,” Kon answered.

“And I’m so glad you remember,” Jason answered, sitting down.

“Me or Kon? Because I feel like one of us wasn’t meant to forget that,” Dick chuckled.

“Both, but I was talking to Kon. Because it still stands,” Jason answered.

“I’m aware. I never assumed the threat dropped,” Kon assured him while Tim rolled his eyes.

“Be nice to Timmy’s boyfriend,” Dick flicked Jason’s ear, “He’s a good kid.”

“I’m perfectly nice to Kon. I just make sure he knows that if he hurts Tim that will change.”

“At least you’re showing you care, I guess.” Dick lightly rubbed at the ear he flicked before retreating back to Tim and Kon’s side on the other couch. As he regained his memories, he found the urge to just be in Jason’s space, casually touch him, and just be near him to be stronger. Maybe he just remembered what it was like to cuddle and now he missed it, but he wasn’t going to do anything if Jason wasn’t okay with it.

“It’s really fine,” Kon said. “I know where he’s coming from. I’d be upset if someone hurt Tim too.”

“Well even if you get it, I’m pretty sure Jason would’ve directed that threat to anyone who tried to date a bat. Pretty sure he just got stumped with Cass and Steph dating each other.”

Cass, who was walking by to get to the kitchen, nodded. “He said ‘please don’t hurt each other. I won’t know what to do.’ It was sweet.”

“He’s a big closeted sweetie,” Dick nodded in agreement, because his memories and just the interactions he’d had since Jason became a part of his life again, had allowed him to gather at least that much.

“I’m not!” Jason protested.

“Yes you are,” Dick, Tim and Cass all said at once.

“...that was kind of creepy,” Jason told them and Kon nodded a little.

“It’s because we all know it’s true,” Dick continued to tease.

“I’ll have you know I am one of the most dangerous men in this country.”

“Still good,” Cass smiled at him.

“One of the most dangerous men that has a soft gooey center.” Somehow teasing Jason just made Dick want to aisle up into his space even more. Probably because he got to see how cute Jason was.

“You guys are the worst. Is it too late to find a safe house to recover in?”

“Absolutely,” Tim told him.

“You promised to teach me cooking,” Cass added accusingly.

“Dude, I asked you for one recipe and you said no,” Kon shot him a betrayed look.

“Okay, but could you say no to Cass?” Jason pointed out, and Kon begrudgingly shook his head. “Besides, she wants to learn for a romantic dinner for Steph. And the true way into Steph’s heart is through food.”

“He’s right. I bought her a waffle iron once when we were dating and she cried,” Tim agreed.

Dick hugged a couch pillow to his chest because if he couldn’t hug Jason then at least it was something. “She still loves that thing. She told me she’d make me some because I don’t remember what they taste like, and why I used to like them better than pancakes.”

“She lied to you man,” Jason said with a laugh. “You guys argued about pancakes vs waffles all the time.”

“Well now I need both so I can actually back up my own arguments.”

“Well apparently Steph has already agreed to hook you up with one,” Jason answered.

“You won’t show me how to make my own pancakes, so my opinion is doomed to be one sided.”

“I’m sure you could convince Kon to make some for you. I see no reason you need to make your own since you’re not making your own waffles.”

“You just refuse to teach me because of past mistakes I don’t even remember,” Dick huffed, “Not all cooking attempts end in grease fires.” Dick thought about what he said for a minute. “Oh wait. I guess I do remember some. But my point still stands.”

“Not happening,” Jason said firmly.

“I’ll make pancakes for breakfast tomorrow, but I won’t teach you either,” Kon added.

“Why not?” Dick whined.

“Because your kitchen isn’t the only one you’ve set fires in.”

Dick sighed and hugged his pillow tighter. “Not even given a chance.”

“You have been given many chances,” Tim told him.

“You all suck.”

“We all like not putting out fires,” Tim corrected.

Dick just pouted at all of them. At this point he was pretty sure they were all right, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel indignant at being told he was incapable of something he didn’t remember attempting.

“I will cook with you,” Cass offered.

Dick looked up at her with hope in his eyes. “You will?”

“Yes of course. But every time you burn something you have to spar with me for an hour, and I will not hold back as much during these sessions. You should learn to be careful of burning things quickly.”

“Don’t go for it man; Cass can put any of us on our asses,” Kon warned. Cass smiled serenely at him.

“Yeah but...” Dick clenched and unclenched his fingers. He’d been getting pretty antsy sitting around. He hadn’t been doing any training and barely any exercise, everyone thinking he should focus on his memories more, and he more or less agreed with them. He’d gotten plenty of training and exercise while with the Court, but it had been over a week now and he felt the need for some action. “I’m pretty tempted to take the offer.”

“Dick, when the guy with superpowers is saying don’t do it because she can take everyone down in this room, it’s probably a bad idea,” Tim pointed out.

“Are you trying to train him to not burn things by kicking his ass for an hour each time he does?” Jason asked her, which she nodded to pretty easily.

“Yes. But I need you to teach me cooking first so I can teach him.”

“You make me sound like a dog, and I don’t like that, but I do want to learn how to cook and get some sparring in.”

“I would never beat up a dog,” Cass protested.

“That makes me feel so much better,” Dick said dryly. “If I’m not allowed to cook, then can I still spar? With anyone? Not you,” Dick pointed at Jason, who shrugged his shoulders.

“I will still spar with you, but I will be gentle,” she offered, clearing out the table in the middle of the room.

“Wait, right now?” It wasn't that Dick wasn’t grateful or excited, but it was a little unexpected.

“Cass is always ready to fight,” Tim told him with a laugh while Cass stood waiting for him.

“I can relate.” Dick put his couch pillow aside and got up. The second he saw the look in Cass’ eyes, he knew he was doomed.

She was definitely playing nice with him, but he still ended up flat on his back in a matter of seconds. “Would you like to go again?”

“Yes,” Dick breathed out, because even if his ass was being handed to him, he still missed the feeling of using his muscles.

She grinned and they went for another fifteen or so minutes before Tim intervened. “Can I get a turn?” He asked after Cass took him down again. “Maybe he’ll actually stand a chance that way.”

“I’m glad she’s on our side,” Dick wheezed.

Tim fought differently than Cass. His fighting style seemed to involve a lot of split second strategy and taking advantage of any weak spots he found. He also had the advantage of clearly remembering training with Dick before, because he seemed to mostly know what to expect. Dick did still manage to take him down though after a few minutes. “Alright, alright, help me up,” Tim said, holding out his hand. Although as soon as Dick pulled him to his feet Tim flipped him over his shoulder and put Dick down flat with a grin.

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have helped him,” Jason said from where he, Kon, and Cass were all watching on the couch. “Timmy’s mean like that.”

“I feel like I’ve done exactly this before, and instead of forgetting, I repressed it.”

“You have. Well, I don’t know about with Timmers, but I’ve done it to you at least,” Jason told him.

“I learned it from you,” Tim said to Jason.

“I still can’t believe you thought you’d actually taken me down. Insulting,” Jason answered.

“Whatever. I’ve totally done it to Dick since then though,” he agreed.

“You tried that on me,” Cass recalled. “It did not work.”

“Yeah, cause you didn’t even try to help me up.”

“Because I knew what you would do.”

“Well my trust has been thoroughly betrayed,” Dick sighed as he just continued to lay on the floor. “I’ll never trust again.”

“Never trust Tim. The rest of us are fine,” Kon pointed out.

“You’re dating him,” Dick said accusingly, shooting up, “I thought trust was important in relationships.”

“I trust him with my life, but if I’m fighting him that goes out the window.”

Dick gave him an assessing look before nodding. “Okay, good answer.”

“So, are you still recovering from the break of trust, or did you wanna go again?” Tim asked.

“Let’s go again.” Dick hopped up onto his feet into a ready stance. “After you, I’m going after your boyfriend.”

“I feel obligated to remind you that I have super powers,” Kon pointed out.

“Yes, I know.” Dick didn’t bother to hide the excitement in his voice.

“One of which is tactical telekinesis, and another is super strength; you won’t win that fight.”

Dick’s eyes just shined even brighter, but he turned his attention back to Tim. “Come at me, Babybird.”

Tim looked briefly surprised, but quickly covered it to start their next match.

By the time he was feeling worn out, Steph was walking in and raised an eyebrow. “I leave for a few hours to take my turn grocery shopping and you guys turned the living room into a gym. It reeks of sweat in here,” she complained.

Dick immediately perked up at that. “Does hours mean lots of snacks?” As if on cue, his stomach growled.

“It means Tim’s an asshole, but yeah,” she agreed.

“They’ve got some weird competition,” Kon told him. “When it’s one of their turns to go shopping the other one puts some weirdly obscure item on the list. First one not to find it loses.”

Dick immediately went for the bags. “Huh, coffee candy, that sounds fun.” Dick unwrapped one and popped it in his mouth.

“That’s just a regular thing on the list. I like them,” Tim said, getting up to help Steph start putting things away.

It did sound very like Tim. “Then what was it?” Dick asked, digging through the bags.

“Pickled tomatoes. Green ones were specified as not allowed because those I could have found at Walmart. And I’m going to make Tim actually eats these things for the amount of searching I did,” she said, pulling out a jar.

“It would be a waste of food otherwise.” Dick may have loved Tim, he knew that he did, but that just meant that teasing him was just so much more fun.

“I’ll make sure Kon puts them in something to make them edible,” Tim agreed diplomatically.

“I’ll eat it with you, totally not because I just burned all my calories,” Dick offered.

“Maybe not tonight. I think Kon already had plans for what to make,” Tim said with a laugh. “But I might take you up on that later since she bought a large jar.”

“It was the only way they came, it wasn’t out of spite. Although I would have done that if there had been options too,” Steph told him.

“I hear spite tastes bitter, so it’s probably good you didn’t have that option today.”

“I disagree, but whatever you say,” she answered.

* * *

It had been a good few weeks since Jason got stabbed, which meant that he was healed enough to do a bit of field work again, which meant Dick felt comfortable in finally suggesting that they do what he knew everyone was thinking. “I think I’m ready to talk about the Court.”

Tim was the first one to respond, setting down his fork and giving Dick his undivided attention. “Okay. Specifically what about them?” He asked calmly.

“Everything. The bases they kept me in, the leaders that I know of, their systems of operations.”

“Should I call B?” Steph asked.

“He might want to be here for it,” Dick nodded.

“We might as well just go there if we’re having the conversation with him,” Kon pointed out. “All the computers and stuff to look up anything you tell us.”

“He’s not wrong,” Jason grudgingly agreed.

“You’re okay with going to the cave?” Dick asked Jason.

“I go there for cases when mine tangle with the rest of the bats’, I’m fine,” Jason answered.

“Then I guess we can relocate.”

Arriving at the cave, he didn’t bother with pleasantries, announcing their arrival with “I’m ready to tell you about the Court.”

He got Bruce’s immediate attention. “I take it that also means you’re ready to take them down.”

“Yes. Ask me what you need, and I’ll tell you what I know given that they haven’t completely moved all their bases.”

An hour of interrogation and then another several of planning later and they were all taking a short break because Alfred had insisted they could think better if they all ate something and Jason had left for a smoke break.

“We won’t be able to take them out,” Steph mused, sounding like she was only half talking to Dick more just talking though and he happened to be next to her while she ate her sandwich, “that’s the main problem with the planning. We don’t kill, for starters. The Talons sure, cause they’re already dead, but the Court themselves we’d have to arrest all of them, and then find reason to actually have them arrested. This is such a waste of time, what we really need is just something that will make them leave us alone. At least for a little while until they come up with a new plan to fuck with us.”

She leaned her chair back so that it was propped on two legs, balancing with her boots propped up on the table. “Maybe their leader. And whoever is under that person. Jason’s gotten rid of like half their Talons probably,” and now she was definitely just talking to herself.

“All the leaders are masked. I’ve never even gotten the chance to meet them, only superiors who kept promising that I would eventually.”

She looked over at him like she was surprised to get an answer. “Right, yeah, but even if they abandoned all their hideouts they have to have left something behind in at least one of them. You can never completely clear out. So maybe we could figure it out. Maybe. And Jay’s been gathering a lot of intel, not really intentionally since he was just looking for you, but we’ll take what we can get I guess.”  

Dick hummed in agreement. “You know, after a year of nothing, most people would have declared me dead instead of doing what he did.”

“No body, no death. That’s something I heard a lot from him and Tim,” she told him.

“I think by that point even I would’ve given up.” Dick felt a smile stretch over his lips, “I’m glad they didn’t though.”

“Nah. You wouldn’t have,” she told him, finishing her sandwich. “You never give up on people when you think there’s even a chance of saving them.”

“Well, I hope I’m never put in a situation where I’ll have to find out how I’ll react.”

“The court hasn’t ever had much interest in Jason if that’s what you mean. At least not until after they got you, but that was more of a ‘holy shit this guy is taking apart our whole operation’ kinda thing.” She dropped her chair back onto all four legs. “I’m glad he’s on our side most of the time now. He’s kinda scary when he’s against you.”

Damian, who had apparently been paying attention from Dick’s other side (he’d been sticking pretty close whenever he and Dick were in the same room during all of Dick’s visits to the manor), spoke up. “The Court did once try to assimilate me into their ranks as well. Brown is right, you don’t give up on people. You saved me.”

“I’m glad,” Dick wrapped an arm around Damian’s shoulders, which was a bit awkward with their height difference, “because I meant all of you, not just Jason. Gotta protect your family.”

Damian nodded in agreement even as he shrugged off the arm around his shoulders.

Dick responded by ruffling Damian’s hair. “We should get back down there, I think we’re pretty much done with our snack break.”

“Gotta wait for Jason to come back inside,” Steph reminded him.

“Wait no longer, I’m right here,” Jason announced, walking in and picking up a sandwich.

“We were talking about you,” Dick supplied.

Jason raised an eyebrow. “Okay? What about me?”

“That you’re terrible at letting things go, but I’m glad for it this time.”

“Your one man crusade through the Court,” Steph added.

“Ah, that. I guess technically it worked since they sent him to me. But I’d really call it a two man crusade since Timmers was hacking his way through as much of their stuff as he could while I was tracking down hideouts.”

“They got tired of having of finding new places to make more talons,” Dick nodded. “I was slated to become one of them after I killed you.” It was weird thinking about it now, being so complacent with being essentially told that he was going to be turned into a zombie. When the only thing he knew was the Court, it felt wrong to ever doubt them.

“What a weird loyalty test,” Steph muttered.

“Well, I failed it. Knowing what I know now, I don’t think I ever would have been able to pass.”

“It was a stupid plan,” Damian informed him. “But if it had worked you would have been the best to do it since Todd was taking down Talon’s left and right.”

“That almost sounds like a compliment to my skills,” Jason smirked at him, and Damian looked disgusted.

“It’s not. It’s an insult to the Court and a compliment to Grayson’s skills.”

“It’s a compliment to both of us,” Dick said as he pulled Damian into a squishing hug.

“It’s absolutely not,” Damian protested, struggling in his arms.

“He loves both of us, even if he won’t ever admit it.” Dick rubbed his cheek against Damian’s hair.

“Unhand me, Grayson! You’re the one that said it was time to go back to the cave.”

“What kind of brother would I be if I missed an opportunity to tease you?”

“Please, you’re more like his dad,” Steph laughed as Damian finally managed to get out of Dick’s arms.

“Even better,” Dick laughed. “He’s right though, I did say that we should go back to the cave. C’mon, let’s go.” He was reaching out to grab Jason’s hand, or maybe wrap his arm around his waist before he even realized he was doing it, and quickly aborted the motion, shoving his hands in his pockets. It had just felt so instinctual, and Jason had definitely noticed if the surprised glance he made between Dick’s arm and his face was anything to go by, but he didn’t say anything about it and just walked down with them.

“You guys ready to get back to work?” Tim asked when they came back in, having refused to leave before much like Bruce. Which is why Cass had also stayed in the cave to make sure they did at least eat something.

“Ready as we’ll ever be,” Dick shrugged.

They managed to pinpoint the three bases Dick told them about that would either still be operational or just recently vacated and divided themselves into teams for each. Dick was in charge of leading his team through the base that was most likely still operational, the other two would be visited purely to hunt down any information they could get on the Court. “You sure you shouldn’t be leading the team in, B?”

“You’re the one who’ll know the base, you will be our best bet at getting through it safely.” Dick also had an inkling of an idea that Bruce just wanted to expose him to the leadership that had been brainwashed out of him.

“But we’re your team, even Jason sometimes,” Dick insisted.

“It’s your mission, you deserve to lead it.” Bruce’s voice left no room for argument.

* * *

The missions went as well as could be hoped. They took down a lot of court’s Talons with Dick’s team, and even managed to make some arrests, and gathered enough intel to find high up members with the other teams. Not leaders like Steph had hoped, but they were hoping that through that they would be able to access even more, and Tim had made sure that all of the people they did find would be in prison for a long time no matter how good their lawyers were for the evidence he planted on them.

Now, days later, they were finally getting a night off, and had stopped by their own apartment to pick up some clothes and other personal belongings that they hadn’t been able to deal with before, after Jason disabled all the bugs in the place. They wouldn’t be able to stay there no matter how strong of a message they sent, but they felt safe enough to at least get some of their things.

Dick didn’t think socks were that high on the priority list, but Jason insisted that he should try and grab at least a few even if they were replaceable. It was digging through the drawer to try and find the coolest designs he had that he found a very boring one buried deep within with a not so boring shape to it. He pulled it out to find a velvet box hidden in it. Tim did say that they talked about marriage before, and just opening the box he realized he could recall every time he and Jason had talked about just that. He could think of the many moments that they talked about it, moments where they had argued about it, even quiet moments during the start of their relationship where Dick had just considered the idea. He could recall them like he’d never actually forgotten them, which was such a relieving thought, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the plain gold band tucked within the box.

“Hey Dick,” Jason called from the living room, jolting him out of his thoughts. “If you wanna grab your Nightwing stuff there’s a hidden panel on the right side wall. It should respond to your fingerprint.”

Dick quickly stashed the box back in the sock and hid it in the back of his bag, before going out to do what he’d been wanting to for weeks. He wrapped his arms around Jason’s neck and pulled him close for a kiss, only stopping just before because he knew Jason would reject it. “What did you say was the reason we couldn’t again?”

Jason’s eyes had gone wide at the intrusion of space, and he looked to be having some kind of internal conflict before just answering with, “I- what are you doing?”

“You look the exact same as the first time I did this and told you not to leave after we had sex. Actually that’s the same look you gave me the first time we had sex too.”

Jason’s brows furrowed. “You… remember that?” And this close Dick could see he actually had just the barest hint of color to his cheeks.

“Uh huh. I also remember the day you decided to finally move in with me, and the day you told me you couldn’t stand my crappy apartment anymore and that we had to get a new one together, and the first time you managed to tell me you love me and...” With every memory Dick inched himself closer and closer until their lips touched, but a good few seconds with no reaction and Jason’s hands still staying firmly at his side had Dick backing away. “And you’re still convinced we shouldn’t be together yet,” Dick frowned. It was like trying to win Jason’s love all over again, but then Jason was grabbing him and pulling him close again.

“No no, I just- I wasn’t expecting- you remember me,” he said softly, and there was such genuine happiness in his voice like Dick rarely got to hear from him as he spoke, reaching up to cup Dick’s face and just staring with something like wonder.

“You all said I was remembering pretty fast. You weren’t going to stay forgotten.”

“It’s just been so long,” and now Jason was hugging him tight. “You were gone, and then you were here but you weren’t like you, and you’ve been more and more like yourself, but you still didn’t remember me and now… god you’re here and you’re you and I’m just so glad,” he murmured into Dick’s shoulder.

Dick could feel the corners of his eyes get a little wet as he clutched at Jason. “I’ve missed you too. I’ve missed knowing everything about you, but in retrospect, I don’t think I would’ve minded learning all over again.”

“You sort of just did.” He pulled back enough to look Dick in the eyes. “What triggered the memories?”

“Nothing special, I was just thinking about your hatred of my Batman socks.” Dick didn’t think it was the right time to tell Jason about the ring, not right after he’d just gotten his memories back.

“The Batman socks that I burned two years ago?” Jason raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Which was a shame because he remembered the long suffering look he got from Bruce whenever he wore them to the manor. “I found my Superman socks. They’re all nicely packed and ready to go.”

“Those I’m fine with,” he allowed. “I still can’t believe,” Jason murmured before leaning forward and pressing his lips to Dick’s, tangling his fingers in Dick’s hair. Dick gladly kissed back, pressing himself as close to Jason as possible.

“We should finish packing,” Jason said a little breathlessly when they pulled apart. “The Court will have noticed their monitoring is down. Tim and Bruce are also watching in case anyone comes to check it out.”

“But I’ve been waiting so long for you to be okay with this,” Dick said, leaning in to kiss him again.

“And I can be more okay with it in a place that isn’t being monitored,” Jason said against his mouth.

Dick gave a small whine, kissing him again, but made that one brief before taking a step back. “Fine,” he sighed, “But can we stay at one of the nice safe houses?”

“All one of them?” Jason raised his eyebrows.

“I could’ve sworn you had at least three.”

“The other two nice ones were compromised while you were gone. So I’ve got one,” he shrugged. “It’s the one you like though, with the view of the city.”

“Good. If only one has lived then I’m glad it’s that one. Makes climbing rooftops easier since we’re already high up.”

“Then that one it is,” Jason told him with a grin. “I’ve got all of my stuff that I don’t wanna ditch, what about you?”

“Well I thought I had everything before my socks and was clearly wrong about that so let me give this place a good circle.”

“Did you get the Nightwing stuff? You ran out here too quick to have actually gotten all of it.”

Right, Dick did need to grab that. He’d worn his Talon gear during the Court take down, much to his great discomfort. It had been better for infiltrating and he couldn’t go back to his apartment for his Nightwing gear. “I guess I should grab that. You should tell me about other insignificant things I might be inclined to leave behind, just in case.”

“I packed some of your stuff in my bag that I thought you might want later,” Jason assured him.

“Then I guess I can grab my gear and we can go.” It was a little sad to leave their home of a few years, but it was a sacrifice he knew was necessary.

Once he had the gear packed he walked out and Jason wrapped his arm around his waist and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Maybe when things settle down we can look for a new home. One with a better landlord and super,” he suggested with a smile.

“The super was always a little too nosy, although if we’re being honest, we both know he just didn’t know how two men generated so much noise during sex,” Dick laughed.

“And he never fixes anything,” Jason grinned at him. “The absolute worst. The bar isn’t high for the next one.”

“The bar wasn’t high for this one either, you hated my old super.” Dick couldn’t exactly remember what the fights they got into were about, but he knew they hadn’t gotten along.

“Because your old super had a thing for you, which would be fine because who doesn’t, if he wasn’t constantly trying to pick fights with me because of it,” Jason told him, leading them towards the door. “Also he was for sure doing some shady shit on the side, but given the location of your old place I’d have been more surprised if that wasn’t the case.”

“Well,” Dick leaned up to peck Jason on the lips, “Just like the last place, I don’t care where we end up as long as I get to keep you with me.”

Everything wasn’t fixed, and Dick still didn’t have all of his memories back, but they were getting there, and for the moment that was enough for the two of them.


End file.
